News

1, October 2017

The Republic of Ambazonia: Free At Last ⁰

The great day finally arrives. It has been a very long night. Many people have not known a good night’s sleep. All across, the worlds have been calling for peace. Leaders across the globe are advising Cameroonians not to walk that path, but Anglophones are hell-bent on walking away.

Akere Muna delivered a keynote address, calling for peace. He clearly has the interest of our nation at heart. But don’t expect much in terms of communication. Internet connection across Southern Cameroons went down yesterday.
The disconnection was gradual and it was final in the night. This is a government strategy to prevent mass communication. However, If you are around Missellele, in the south west region, then you are connected thanks to the littoral communication mast. It’s still too early in the two Anglophone regions.

As promised, 9am will surely usher in a new nation. The preparations have been very carefully coordinated. It’s hard to understand that a whole people are following instructions from people who are thousands of miles away.

However, some areas have already started seeing violence. The Kumbo central prison in Bui Division is up in flames as reported by some. Tombel is back in the news. Mutengene is seeing large crowds at the famous roundabout.

Disturbances are being reported there and in Mamfe, determined youths are defying orders and making sure their voices are heard.

Cameroon will never be the same again. For the moment, Tiko, Buea and Limbe are calm. Call family and friends to make sure everybody is ok. Cameroon is at the crossroads. It’s disturbing to see this happen in this once-upon-a-time oasis of peace. Free at last!! A new nation is born!! The Republic of Southern Cameroons

30, September 2017

Shootings leave nearly dozen dead in South Africa ⁰

Eleven people were killed in a series of overnight shootings in a Cape Town township, police said Saturday, including four victims shot dead when gunmen opened fire in a bar.

Extra police officers were deployed to the Philipi district of Cape Town, a city that suffers from regular gang violence and armed clashes between rival criminal groups.

“We have deployed teams comprising specialist detectives, high-risk units and intelligence operatives,” police spokeswoman Novela Potelwa told the News 24 website. “We already executed search operations that are set to continue throughout the day. The police are doing their best to arrest those responsible.”

Tens of thousands of people live in informal shack settlements in Philipi, located in the notoriously crime-ridden Cape Flats area of the city.

Four people were shot dead at an informal “shebeen” bar on Friday evening, with three other bodies found by police nearby. Another four more people were killed elsewhere in the district.

The ruling ANC party condemned the deaths.

“Regardless of the circumstances, these mass murders — related or not — are criminal acts which must be punished using the full might of our law,” party spokesman Zizi Kodwa said in a statement.

“Criminals live amongst our communities, they are harbored by us and until society stands as one against this scourge, it will not be defeated,” it added.

On average, there are 51 murders per day in South Africa, according to official figures released last year.

Crime is seen as a major issue hampering the country’s social cohesion, economic development and international reputation — especially as a tourist destination.

Last week 36 Dutch tourists were robbed on a bus on route to their hotel after landing at Johannesburg airport for a three-week holiday.

(Source: AFP)

30, September 2017

UN Human Rights Council extends Burundi abuses probe ⁰

The UN Human Rights Council voted Friday to extend the mission of an international probe into atrocities in Burundi, overriding strong pushback from the government accused of crimes against humanity.

The adoption of the European Union resolution to prolong the mandate by a year came a day after the council’s African bloc approved a separate measure to send a team of experts to Burundi that would report their findings to the government.

The controversial African proposal, strongly supported by Burundi’s UN delegation, angered Western delegations and rights groups.

They blasted it as an underhanded attempt to suppress the impact of the UN-backed probe, which has collected evidence of egregious crimes orchestrated by Burundi’s government and security forces.

The EU proposal, which was backed by the United States, passed Friday with 22 votes in favor, 11 against with 14 abstentions.

The African group was split on the EU measure: South Africa and Ghana voted against, while Kenya, Nigeria and Ivory Coast abstained.

With both Burundi resolutions having been approved by the council, the crisis-riddled country is now in the rare circumstance of being subject to two investigations.

In accordance with the African-backed plan, three experts will be “urgently” dispatched to Burundi to study the situation and then “forward” their findings to the judicial authorities, who will assess their validity.

The EU resolution extends the work of the independent Commission of Inquiry, which earlier this month accused the government of crimes against humanity, including executions and torture.

“The Commission can now continue its crucial work to end the abuses and hold perpetrators accountable,” the Geneva director for Human Rights Watch, John Fisher, said in a statement.

“Burundi’s victims deserve no less”, he added.

Burundi plunged into crisis in 2015 after the country’s President Pierre Nkurunziza sought a fiercely contested third term in office.

The violence claimed between 500 and 2,000 lives, according to differing tolls from the UN and civil society groups, while more than 400,000 Burundians have fled abroad.

(Source: AFP)

30, September 2017

Troops deployed ahead of Southern Cameroons independence declaration ⁰

President Paul Biya has sent in the army to deter Anglophone secessionists from declaring their independence as massive protests break out. But this appears to have done little to weaken their resolve.

Cameroon soldiers patrol the far north region near the border to Nigeria (picture-alliance/dpa/N. Chimtom)

The Cameroon government has deployed thousands of troops to the anglophone northwest and southwest of the country in an attempt to stop separatist groups from declaring independence on October 1.

Authorities also announced temporary restrictions on travel into Nigeria in the wake of violent protests, sparked by ongoing complaints of economic and political discrimination and demands for more Anglophone rights in the predominately Francophone country.

But at the border locality of Ekok, at least 700 people are ignoring calls for peace by political leaders and civil society groups, and continue to hold demonstrations and attack government buildings while proudly hoisting what they call the flag of their new independent state, Ambazonia.

27-year-old Tambe Elias, who claims to be the head of the group, says they no longer recognize President Paul Biya as their leader.

“He is nobody and he will never mean anything to the Ambazonians. This is the border between southern Cameroon and Nigeria, at the frontier Ekok. You can see the flags, this is the border. Now they have closed the border, they don’t want us to cross to Nigeria, but we are already there. Biya must go.”

The demonstrators attempted to cross over to the Nigerian border state of Enugu, with whom they have strong cultural ties, in order to inform authorities that a new nation had been born, however Nigerian immigration police ultimately prevented them from doing so. So they returned to Ekok, loudly singing their new national anthem while hoisting their blue and white flag and chasing away any Cameroon government workers who crossed their path.

A looming crisis

Despite the setbacks, the separatists have vowed to secede from Cameroon on October 1 – at least symbolically – and have appointed the exiled Julius Ayuk Tabe as their interim leader.

In response, the Cameroonian government has deployed troops to major towns in the country’s English-speaking region in an attempt to stop the demonstrations, although many separatists have simply relocated to smaller regions like Ekok where there is little to no military presence.

Cameroonians in New York call for national unity during the Anglophone crisis (picture alliance/AP Photo/B. Matthews)

Cameroonians in New York call for national unity during a United Nations visit by President Paul Biya

French-speaking Cameroonian, Debong Ignatius, is concerned that the military getting involved may only make matters worse. He spoke to DW about his own recent experience.

“Men in uniform and the police circled our neighborhoods, entered the various houses insisting that people should bring out any Ambazonian flags which they were hiding. But I do not think it is their duty to go harassing people at this precise moment because it can exacerbate the situation.”

Government ministers step in

Almost all English-speaking government ministers and senior state workers in the capital Yaounde have been sent home by President Biya with orders to convince people not to support the separatists.

Secretary of State in the Ministry of Industries, Mines and Technological Development, Fuh Calistus Gentry, told DW he plans to focus on speaking with his constituents about the dangers of believing in false hope.

“First of all this is a psychological war where people are frightened because some groups of people have taken their minds hostage. Secondly there is a false hope that is put into peoples’ minds. We have tried to assure people that the state will go to any extent to assure the fundamental rights of every person. We have also gone out to detoxify the minds of people which is built around false hope.”

Schools remain shut

Cameroon Anglophone independence protesters are released from custody (Reuters/Stringer)

Anglophone independence protesters are released from custody at Yaounde prison

Schools have been closed in Cameroon’s English-speaking regions since November 2016, when lawyers and teachers called for a strike against what they believe is the overuse of the French language.

Many of those involved in the strike were arrested, with pressure groups calling for their immediate and unconditional release. Fifty-five of the 75 protesters were released and charges were dropped, with observers viewing this as a significant concession to the strikers’ demands.

But with separatists now calling for complete independence from Cameroon, President Biya has made it clear that he is not open to any form of negotiation over the issue, saying the country will remain indivisible.

Source: DW

29, September 2017

Southern Cameroons Crisis: “President Biya may have escaped arrest” ⁰

The former head of the ruling CPDM parliamentary group, Hon. Albert Dzongang, who has been a very close collaborator to President Paul Biya and to whom he remains attached has said that he does not understand why Biya is still abroad at the moment when the Southern Cameroons crisis is aggravating.

“How can you be away when your country is in danger? I believe that the head of state is feeling the danger and has fled! CPDM militants must make public motions to support Biya so that he returns.”

Albert Dzongang opined that he is vehemently opposed to the French Cameroun idea of subduing Southern Cameroonians. “Have you ever heard that arms have won any conflict? In that case, America would have dominated the world. America has not won in Iraq, Libya or Afghanistan even with sophisticated weapons! CPDM will not win in Anglophone Cameroon using the army.”

The CPDM defector enumerated the advantages of a federal system. “Federalism is the art of living together differently. No federalism is dangerous. Cameroon was federal. Those who are in Yaoundé are power drunk. They do not want to give up. By regionalizing, the budget will be divided by 10. What will remain in central administration will not allow them in their greed to steal billions and billions. That’s why they prefer to see Cameroon burn, rot.”

By Eyong Johnson, CCN

29, September 2017

2 Cameroonian soldiers killed in the Far North ⁰

Two Cameroonian soldiers were killed on Thursday in the Far North following an explosion of an improvised device. The two soldiers were serving with the Joint Multinational Force headquartered in Mora, in the Mayo-Sava Division in Far-North region of La Republique du Cameroun.

The service men were killed early in the morning while on patrol in a field mission at the Bonderi locality as part of the war against the Nigerian Islamic sect, Boko Haram. The device exploded as a group of soldiers passed, killing two on the spot.

Cameroon Concord News gathered from military sources that the explosive was placed by Boko Haram terrorists, whose exactions in Cameroonian territory have already caused the death of at least 2,000 people and made more than 100 thousand internally displaced persons.

By Sonne Peter, CCN

29, September 2017

Movement restricted in Southern Cameroons ahead of independence day ⁰

Authorities in the South West Region of Cameroon have restricted movement of people and vehicles and banned meetings from Friday to Monday. The ban imposed by the Francophone Governor Bernard Okalia Bilai affects the celebration of independence day in the region on October 1.

Among the regulatory measures announced on Thursday are the closure of all borders, bars, night clubs, parks and “prohibition of any public gatherings and assembly of more than four persons in any public location”.

He said the measures are intended to preserve public peace and guarantee security “following persistent threats of destabilization through manipulation by individuals acting from outside the national territory.” This was followed by another ban on restriction imposed by the Senior Divisional Officer of the Manyu Province in the region, Oum II Joseph from Friday to Tuesday.

“All public meetings and manifestations are banned within the entire division with effect from Tuesday 26th September to Tuesday 10th October 2017,” he added. The measures follow last week’s massive demonstrations in several English-speaking towns in the North-West and South-West Regions against the continuous detention of some of the inhabitants of the regions and independence from French Cameroon.

It started in Bamenda last Friday despite a ban on movement of persons imposed the night before by Governor Adolphe Lele Lafrique following a bomb attack that injured three police officers. The demonstration spread to Buea in the South-West Region where women led the march with hundreds behind them carrying leaves, tree branches and flags of the Cameroon separatist movement.

It was the same scene in the towns of Fontem, Kumba and Mamfe among others in the same region who are also demanding to be independent from French Cameroon. Tensions are still high ahead of the October 1 independence day celebrations which risk facing demonstrations in the Anglophone regions.

Culled from Africa News

28, September 2017

Southern Cameroonians express optimism at Independence Day celebration ⁰

A Special Edition Poll results released by Cameroon Concord News Group have revealed that a majority of Anglophone Cameroonians (98 percent) believe Southern Cameroon’s Independence is worth celebrating in spite of the extra judicial killings, arbitrary arrests and rapes including the economic recession that has rocked the territory. However, it should be noted that this is a vast increase from the 2006 value, indicating that the the union between West Cameroon and French Cameroun has failed.

More findings revealed that of those who believe Southern Cameroons’s Independence is worth celebrating (despite the militarisation of the territory by the French Cameroun government and challenges facing the young nation), a significant proportion (35 percent) stated that Independence Day is worth celebrating because it is Southern Cameroon’s day of independence and some (60 percent) also asserted that it marks the day Southern Cameroons was liberated from colonial rule and the correction of the 56 years injustice meted on Southern Cameroonians by Francophone political elites.

In addition, many Southern Cameroonians reported that they love being Southern Cameroonians mostly because of the Anglosaxon heritage where political leaders are held accountable. Furthermore, the poll results revealed that most Southern Cameroonians consider the the Southern Cameroons Governing Council as the legitimate body running the affairs of Southern Cameroons. Poll results show that 9 percent of Anglophones who do not think Southern Cameroon’s Independence is worth celebrating indicated that it is because people are suffering. These are some of the key findings from the Independence Day Poll conducted by the Cameroon Concord News Group in the week of September 26th 2017.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai with files from CCN and CIR

27, September 2017

Biya regime accused of driving out Nigerians ⁰

Nigerian refugees claim they have been arbitrarily punished by soldiers for Boko Haram attacks in Cameroon as study alleges 100,000 have been forced out. Refugees who fled the Islamist militant group Boko Haram are being driven out of Cameroon and back to Nigeria, where they face violence and destitution, human rights organisations have said.
The Cameroonian military has forced 100,000 refugees to return to north-east Nigeria since 2015, in many cases after torturing, assaulting and sexually abusing them, according to a report by Human Rights Watch (HRW).

The study builds on figures released earlier this year by the UN High commissioner for Refugees, the UN refugee agency. The figures were accompanied by the UNHCR’s first public criticism of the authorities over the returns in two years.

Refugees said soldiers had accused them of belonging to Boko Haram, or of being “Boko Haram wives”, while torturing or assaulting them and dozens of others on arrival, during their stay in remote border areas, and during mass deportations.

One refugee described an attack he witnessed in Minawao refugee camp: “A pregnant woman lost her place in the food line. When she pleaded with an official to let her back in, a soldier attacked her with a big stick. She fell to the ground and started bleeding. I later heard that she died before she reached the clinic.”
Another said: “They humiliated us like animals and beat us like we were slaves. They beat my 22-year-old brother so badly with a wooden stick on his head and his chest that he later died of internal bleeding.”

A 19-year-old woman who arrived in a Cameroonian village described the sexual abuse she witnessed. “The soldiers took advantage of women. They said that if we had sex with them, they would give us food and protect us. If we refused, they would come the next day to where you lived. They took away lots of men and women as Boko Haram suspects. Other times, they deported people to punish them because you said no. I know 18 women who agreed to have sex with the soldiers because of this and three of them got pregnant.”

HRW called on the Cameroonian government to stop all forced removals, and to prosecute soldiers who had been involved in abuses. The group also urged the Nigerian government to admit publicly that it is too dangerous for refugees to return to Borno state.

“The Cameroonian military’s torture and abuse of Nigerian refugees and asylum seekers seems to be driven by an arbitrary decision to punish them for Boko Haram attacks in Cameroon and to discourage Nigerians from seeking asylum,” said HRW’s associate refugee director, Gerry Simpson. “Cameroon should heed the UN’s call on all countries to protect refugees fleeing the carnage in north-east Nigeria, not return them there.”

The Nigerian military has repeatedly declared that it has won the war against Boko Haram, despite ongoing abductions and bomb attacks. One faction of Boko Haram is thought to have been pushed further and further into the islands of Lake Chad, driving out herding and farming communities who have sought shelter in Chad.

Cameroon has responded to the threat posed by Boko Haram mainly in military terms, and its soldiers have faced accusations of abuse before. In August, Amnesty International released a report detailing allegations of torture by the Cameroonian military, which the government denied as “outrageously accusatory”, accusing Amnesty of “playing the role of an organisation for the defence of terrorist interests”.

The latest accusations came just after the country’s president, Paul Biya, told the UN that Cameroon, having hosted thousands of refugees, “understands how much they feel hurt, victimised and threatened in their very existence”. “Therefore, let us mobilise and, through our policies, behaviours and actions, refocus on people,” said Biya.

Despite several appeals, the UNHCR has received less than a quarter of the $94m (£70m) it needs this year to help refugees who have fled to Cameroon from Nigeria and Central African Republic. Human Rights Watch warned that failure to address the shortfall risked sending Cameroon the message that donor governments do not care what happens to Nigerian refugees and that Cameroon is on its own in dealing with them, potentially making the country less accountable.

The number of internally displaced people in Nigeria is 1.7 million, far higher than the 200,000 estimated refugees in neighbouring countries. Towns in north-east Nigeria are struggling to cope with the thousands of people who continue to arrive. Overcrowding, flooding, a lack of food and an outbreak of cholera have made living conditions worse.

Organisations working in north-east Nigeria said forced returns have been widespread there, too, and also reported military abuses. In a 2015 report, Amnesty said the Nigerian military had executed 1,200 people and arbitrarily arrested 20,000, and that 7,000 people had been killed and many tortured in detention.

Culled from The Guardian

27, September 2017

Senior Southern Cameroons environmentalist arrested in Mundemba County ⁰

Francophone security agents have arrested Nasako Besingi, the chairman of an NGO charged with protecting the environment. He was arrested on Monday in his office and CCN understands police officers reportedly ransacked the building in search of documents.

The arrest of the head of the NGO “Struggle to Economize the Future Environment” (Sefe) took place on Monday (September 25th) in Mudemba, capital of the Ndian County. There are several unofficial versions of the reasons for his arrest.

Initial information revealed that the environmentalist had distributed propaganda leaflets for the release of Esonno Wakemba, a demonstrator who has been detained since the Southern Cameroons uprising started 11 months ago.

Another hypothesis links the arrest of Nasako Bensigi to his positions on the activities of Herakles Farm, an agricultural firm that is weighed down by allegations of land grabbing and illegal logging.

In this context, Nasako Besingi was sentenced in January 2016 and November 2015 to heavy fines, and some say he has been defaulting payments associated to his prison sentences, for organizing rallies with local inhabitants deemed illegal.

By Rita Akana with files from Cameroon Info.Net